Sneak Peak
by Terrifica Oneiroi
Summary: It seems that interfering is a genetic trait, as the Doctor is soon to learn.
1. Chapter 1

Summary: It seems that interfering is a genetic trait, as the Doctor is soon to learn.

Disclaimer: Doctor Who © BBC

Warnings: cursing: "shit", "bullocks", and "arse" :D

N'joy.

* * *

Not for the first time, he wondered why he even tried to explain the concept of time to his companions. The delicate nature of the Web of Time couldn't be appreciated by such a primitive brain. To that point, Donna was currently staring at him like he was an odd species of fish.

Come to think of it, Sarah Jane had often done that as well. It was that '_you aren't really going to try and explain this again'_ look. And yet, he always wanted them to understand, to appreciate how delicate time travel was, and how horribly things could go with just a bit too much interference in history. Paradoxes, Reapers, irreparable damage… they were all possibilities when one travelled in time.

And he could see that Donna had no interest whatsoever. Her eyes were glazed slightly, and she was looking around, as if they hadn't seen Cardiff in such a long time. He thought that Donna fancied Jack a bit. And why not? She _would_ be the only woman in the universe that could shut him up. Or was that the other way around?

The Doctor stared at Donna a moment, wondering when it was going to occur to her that he'd stopped talking. It wasn't that he didn't know his companions blocked his rambling out, but it was interesting when they got caught at it. Donna was never apologetic like Martha, and Jack just turned everything he said into some twisted sexual innuendo. Then again, Rose had always listened, tongue poked between her teeth, as if she _wanted_ to laugh at him, but didn't.

He just so happened to turn his head at exactly the right moment. Or the wrong moment, depends on how you look at it. He only had a moment to appreciate the flame decorated Chucks that were carrying a roughly 17 year old male body before it slammed into him at top speed. Not accustomed to being the one bowled over, he went down with an "oof!"

Really, from the ground, one got the most distinct impression of the world. Donna looked like a giant! And really, why did she always wear purple? Was that like _her color_? Purple and ginger… eh, it could be worse.

"Oh, crap. Sorry. Here let me help… well bullocks."

The kid grabbed his hand and hauled him upright. This time, the Doctor got a good look at the boy. He was wearing brown pinstriped trousers and a blue Sex Pistols tee shirt. The boy was tall, almost eye-to-eye with the Doctor. In the boy's hand was a sleek metal tool.

"Oh, no. No, no no no. Please tell me you aren't. D'you know who I am?"

The Doctor searched his mind for some sort of spark of recognition. There was a tickle at the base of his skull. Something was telling him that this boy was special, though he couldn't really put a finger on why.

"Nope."

"Shit."

Donna spoke up for the first time since the crash

"Language, young man."

"Sorry Aunt Donna."

The teen slapped his hand over his mouth and rolled his eyes. _Aunt_ Donna?

"Who're you then? I don't have any siblings."

"I'm sorry. I should have kept my gob shut. This is my fault. No, this is _your_ fault."

He pointed at the Doctor.

"_My_ fault? How is this my fault?"

"This is paradox city, this is. You had better remember this and warn me later. Rassilon, millennia of life, and you're finally slipping, old man."

The tool in his hand bleeped. The boy pressed a button, and a bright orange light lit at the end of it. He held it up to his ear and walked in a circle around them. He cocked his head and looked at the Doctor, who was feeling self-conscious with this kid staring at him.

"What are you staring at?"

"You."

"Why?"

"You're just… you. You're _so_ you."

The Doctor rolled his eyes.

"That was below even your pitiable human coherence."

"Oi! _Human_? You wound me."

Donna stepped between them.

"_Not_ human, then?"

The kid grinned and poked his tongue between his teeth. That little tickle in the back of the Doctor's head flared up again. Something was familiar about that grin. Something was very familiar.

"Definitely not human, no. Sorry."

Donna shrugged.

"Eh, no big thing. I've been around Martian Man here for long enough, I get it now. Earth is tiny, and the universe is unfathomably big."

"Actually, it's not so hard to fathom. You humans have this concept of infinity, which in reality is not so big. Funny, that. The universe, however humble it may make you feel, isn't infinitely stretching. I would know. I've been to the end of it. Great little restaurant."

Donna laughed.

"You're a right Arthur Dent, you are."

The kid clicked his tongue and grinned.

"I try."

"Whot's your name then, sunshine?"

The boy looked at the Doctor.

"I'm… John."

And then, it clicked. And _oh boy_, did it click. That little voice, that one he wasn't used to hearing, that tickle of awareness at the base of his skull… it all made sense. And then it didn't. Because it wasn't possible.

That tickle, that sensation, it was the presence of another Time Lord. And now that he could feel this one, there were more. Not many, maybe three total, but they were there, oh… they were _there_. After so long without a whisper, save for the Master, the sheer possibility of it made him lightheaded. He looked at the boy, really _looked_ this time.

Brown eyes sought hazel ones, and time stopped. Literally, it stopped. They were affecting local time, and everything halted in its place.

"Oh."

The boy looked nervous.

"Yeah, oh."

The tool bleeped again, more insistently.

"Is that your—"

"Built it myself."

"Orange?"

"Better than pink."

_Pink_?

"Sorry, that was too much. By Rassilon this is frustrating."

The orange light flashed again, on and off, on and off. The boy looked down at it. Around them, a wonderfully familiar breeze kicked up and the whirring of ancient engines could be heard close by. Donna was pointing to a blue police box that hadn't been on the street corner when they'd walked down it before. John grinned at him, tongue poking out again, and winked.

"That's my ride. Oh, I'm in—"

"Jonathan! Mum says to get your meddling arse in here right now or she's gonna jettison your entire record collection!"

The Doctor whirled around to see a girl leaning out of the door to the new TARDIS. She was beautiful, about fifteen with long blonde hair. From what he could see, she was wearing a bomber jacket like Ace used to, patches and all. She was a tiny fury standing there with her hand on her hip, pink converse tapping on the edge of the frame.

"Wonderful. Oh, this is just—"

"Mel! You're not helping any! John, get in here _now_."

Well, it wasn't every day you heard yourself yelling at your future children, now was it? John turned back around and smiled at them.

"I'll just be going now. See you soon! Bye Aunt Donna!"

The kid was a blur of legs and trainers as he sped towards the door, shoving his sister back in and slamming it shut. The whirring started again and soon, the second TARDIS disappeared. The Doctor stuck his hands in his pockets and grinned.

"What was _that_?"

He turned to Donna, who was staring at the vacated space with her mouth open.

"That, Donna Noble, was the future."

The Cyberleader had told him that emotions would destroy him, and yet, he still had one favorite.

Hope.

Although, hope only got so far, so he stared trying to explain the concept of a paradox to Donna again.

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End Chapter 1! How exciting. Now go, review, yes, that's right.


	2. Chapter 2

Summary: It seems that interfering is a genetic trait, as the Doctor is soon to learn.

Disclaimer: Doctor Who © BBC Mel, John, Megapolis 3 and the Meganians © Me

Warnings: Is "bleeding" really a curse word? Well, if it is, then that's it.

N'joy.

* * *

The Doctor strolled down the crowded street following his three companions with his hands shoved into his pockets. In front of him, Donna, Martha and Jack were chatting away. Martha was getting married soon, and the three were discussing dresses and suits and plans for the reception.

He'd just _had_ to mention that Megapolis 3 was the best shopping port in the universe.

The Doctor was passing the time by going through each Law of Time individually, and counting how many times he'd broken each. He hadn't moved passed the First Law of Time, and it had been twenty minutes. Perhaps he should try to be a little more careful in the future? He didn't even want to think about how many times he'd broken the No Interference Law. He forgot about his many rule-breaking regenerations as he heard a commotion from one of the vendors.

It was a sort of shoddy looking tent that held bits and bobs made of metal and wire. The Meganian running the tent had a flustered look on his green-hued face, and he was gesturing wildly with his four arms. And then, the Doctor groaned out loud.

The cause of the commotion appeared to be a young human girl. He could only see the back of her, but she had long blonde hair that was tied up into a high ponytail. She was wearing a denim skirt and yellow tights. She was also wearing a black bomber's jacket and pink Chuck Taylor Converse. The only thought that crossed through his mind was _not again._

Had he taught his children nothing about crossing timelines? And what was wrong with him, letting them cross his past timeline? And boy, was his daughter rude.

The girl was pointer her finger at the poor Meganian, who looked like he might burst into tears any moment. The Doctor shuffled a bit closer to her, to _Mel_, he remembered, and listened in on their conversation.

"You listen to me, you swindling conman, I know for a fact that this Hyperdrive Module came from a Chula battle ship, and you've removed the power cell. You can blow your smoke all you want to, buddy, but you ain't foolin' me. My Uncle Jack's as crooked as they come, and I know a snow-job when I see one. You've just _painted_ the damned thing, like any creature with a spit's worth of intelligence couldn't see it. And you didn't even paint it _well_. You know what, I bet the Meganian Trade Commission would just love to hear you pushing tainted goods. And mister, I got a big mouth. People _listen_ when I shout. Time Lords cower from the Tyler Shout. An' no cheatin idiot of a Meganian is gonna trick me with his shoddy Michelangelo'd Module. I'm givin' you ten seconds to show me the real thing before I start shoutin' for the MTC."

The girl tapped her pink plimsol in a decidedly haughty manner, and the Doctor couldn't help but smile. Really! She was like a stick of pink and yellow dynamite!

"You're being rude again."

"Push off, bud- well this is just wonderful. _Just_ what I need."

The little hurricane crossed her arms and glared at him.

"Wotchu doin' here?"

He grinned down at her.

"I could say the same thing to you, Mel."

"'S Melina to you, buster. I'm not even a twinkle in yer eye yet, so you'll have to be earnin' that nickname."

"Good lord, you sound like me."

"Da says I got five's hair and six's attitude."

"I can see that. What are you doing here?"

"Uncle Jack, bleeding idiot, tried to swindle a better con and they took the Hyperdrive Module from Nancy. Uh, Nancy is his ship."

"He got another Chula?"

"Well, you know… timelines and all."

He raised his eyebrows.

"Now you remember?"

The petite Time Lady uncrossed her arms and pointed at him.

"This is _your_ fault, you know. You shoulda warned me or somefing."

"Right. My fault, of course. Where am I, then?"

"You're back on Earth with Mum and John. Uncle Jack promised to take me shopping for my birthday, but of course, Murphy's Law decided to rear his ugly, but familiar, head."

"So, all's pretty much normal, then?"

She sighed.

"'S normal for us, I suppose. Who're you here wit?"

"Oh, you know, Martha, Donna, Jack… oh crud."

"Oh Crud! This planet has two Jack Harknesses on it and all you can say is "oh crud"? What kind of good are you, then? Where is that slimy Meganian? I need the completed Hyperdrive Module, so we can get out of here as fast as possible."

The little fury of a girl strode around the vendor's table and drug out a container that had been hidden by the sign. She dug around in it until she shouted "Snap!" and jumped up. She dug around in her jacket until she came to a credit stick. Shrugging, she left it on the table with the painted Hyperdrive Module. She grabbed his hand and drug him away from the vendor's table, just in time to hear the Meganian shouting behind them.

"Shut yer mouth, you swine! You got yer credits. I got my powercell. We're square!"

The Doctor didn't have a whole lot of time to think about the hilarity of the situation until later. For once, it wasn't him causing the ruckus, and it was him being drug away before something _really_ bad happened. Melina drug him through the tiny side streets, between buildings until she came to the impound shiplot, where she ducked through the wire fence, which looked as if it had been cut through. They ran to the nearest Chula battleship, which now that he was close enough, had a pinup girl on the side and said "Nancy" on the tailfin. He fought the urge to roll his eyes. How very _Jack_.

"You gonna stand there, or are ya gonna help me?"

He helped her prise the front end compartment from the nose of the warship and watched in amusement as she crawled into the tiny space, pulling a decidedly _feminine_ looking Sonic Screwdriver out of her pocket. He finally understood what John meant when he said that orange was better than pink. The inside of the Chula ship lit up neon pink as Melina finessed and tweaked the powercell back into its' place. With a triumphant "Ace!" she shimmied back out, him helping her so that she didn't fall on her backside.

"You think you're so impressive."

She turned to him, offense on her face, but laughter in her eyes.

"I _am_ so impressive. Had a fantastic teacher."

"Oh really," he said with a smug sort of smile. It felt nice to be complimented by his future daughter. However, the smile fell into a shocked face as she spoke.

"Yeah, Mum was tops with her screwdriver."

The girl reached behind her to grab the end of her ponytail and twist it around her fingers, trying to keep from laughing at his expression, he knew.

"Oi, who're you? Oh, jeeze, Mel! You didn't!"

They turned to see a slightly older Jack strolling back into the compound. His eyes were avoiding the Doctor's, and he had his most serious "disapproving" face on for his appointed niece.

"Not me! I was fine, dealin with that idiot Meganian when who should decide to _interfere_, but _The Doctor_. He can't half follow his own rules."

Jack grinned and swept the girl up in a hug.

"Tell me about it. You got the cell?"

She scoffed as he set her down.

"Didja think I wouldn't?"

Finally Jack's eyes met the Doctors and he grinned, parroting his words from so long ago.

"Never doubted you, never will."

The Doctor cleared his throat.

"That's my cue to go! My posse… gang… clique… oh, well, my plus three will be wondering where I wondered off to."

Jack laughed.

"No we didn't. We figured you got into some sort of trouble."

And Melina had to pipe up with a "like usual."

The Boeshane human turned back to the girl.

"I think I promised someone a shopping trip?"

The girl rolled her eyes.

"Can we go somewhere else then? I don't think those vendors will be exactly pleased to see me, now." She turned back to the Doctor. "I'll be seein' you in the future, I should think."

He stooped down a little to hug her, feeling so much better than he had in a long time.

"I'll be seeing you, Melina."

She cuffed him on the arm, and grinned at him with that famous grin, tongue between teeth and all.

"You can call me Mel."

He nodded and waved to the two getting in the Chula battleship. As he turned away, he stuffed his hands in his pockets, and walked the path back to the main vendors. He smiled to himself.

Before he realized that, yet again, he'd broken the rules. It was no use. He'd never be able to keep track of them all. And knowing that he would still be breaking the rules in the future, teaching his children to break the rules, encouraging his friends to break them, well, it just made him grin.

Though that grin died quick when he saw Martha and Donna hurrying toward him and pointing to their bags. One day, he was going to stop giving unlimited credit sticks to his companions.

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Yay! Another chapter accounted for :D Go on, review!


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